Swami Rama Ashram

We arrived at the Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Ashram just in time for a quick tour from Surendra and a delicious lunch. Our first class would be 4.15pm Yoga, this left us time to eat and then unpack. Our comfortable cottage was right next to the Meditation Hall amongst the beautiful gardens. We felt the need to let our family know we'd arrived so the first task in our spiritual quest was to find the wi-fi password :/

Swami Rama was a charismatic man, who had been raised by sages in the Himalayas. He went on the try to spread the word about the health benefits of the methods used high up in the mountains and after 'leaving his body' in 1996 he was suceeded by Swami Veda Bharati. Swami Veda took a 5 year vow of silence in 2013 but sadly too left his body 3 years into this endeavour. Last summer he appointed his successor, Swami Ritavan Bharati to lead the Ashram and organisation into the future. Unfortunately towards the end of everyone's lunch break, whilst we wandered around looking for an office where we might get the said password Swami Ritavan (unknown to us) was the first person we encountered. I'm not sure how impressed he was at the first job on our list for spiritual enlightenment, but he was helpful and directed us back towards the reception building where the staff would be returning in 10 minutes.

During our tour Surendra showed us the Ashram cows, the cow shed had ceiling fans and the cows experienced a life of luxury, their attendants even chanting to them as part of their care. After the baby cow had as much milk as it could possibly drink, the rest was used in the Ashram kitchen. I'm not a milky person really, but the things the chef made with this milk tasted like nothing I have eaten for years. It made me realise that the milk we have today has over a period of years become totally alien to what we started out with.
The food at the Ashram was simple, you collected a 'thali' metal plate, small bowl, spoon and metal beaker. After filling the metal beaker with filtered water you headed for the dining hall where you served yourself (as much as you like) from the heated counter. Rice and chapatis with almost all the meals, along with simple not too spicy curries and dhal. Chillies were always on offer if you needed to spice up your food a little more and often there was a little super sweet treat for the end of your meal. Then you washed up your dishes and put them to drain.

It was here that we first encountered John, an original student of Swami Rama. John and his wife Dena were from the US, Dena was there for a month supporting John in his 3 month silence. He wore a lanyard and badge around his neck saying 'SILENCE' in English and Sanskrit. It's remarkable how much you can communicate and teach whilst remaining silent and John was very good at this. Apparently Swami Rama was a fan of brisk walking, especially in the morning and John demonstrated this perfectly for us. Chris decided that the 'theme tune' to the brisk walking should be Colonel Hathi's March from Jungle Book and this made us chuckle a lot. 'Keep it up, 2, 3, 4' sung in a giggly whisper at 5.45am during our morning Yoga session became a regular fixture :)

Over the next 4 days we grew to love the Ashram more and more. The staff were lovely and the schedules seemed tailor made to our needs. We soon got into the routine with the morning bell at 4.15am not being enough to wake us up properly, we needed serious ring tones from our mobiles to rouse us from our sleep. Eventually we found ourselves honing our morning routine to make the most of the last few minutes of sleep, by Friday this included Chris getting washed in the kitchen sink!

Adhikara led the 5am 'Joints and Glands' class originally taught by Swami Rama, these Himalayan practices aimed at restoring natural vitality to the body and mind. Followed immediately by a guided mediatation session and then breakfast at 8am. Thursday was 'silent day' and the mediation practice was extended to several sessions and even included an amazing totally silent session delivered by Geeta.

The 4.15pm session of Hatha Yoga was taught by Ramcharit Das (who was the proud owner of a new motorcycle on the day we left). Ramcharit combines an air of serenity and calm with a huge sense of humour. Our sessions began with improving breathing and simple postures, but by the time we came to leave these had progressed to more challenging asana and practices. At our final session our recently arrived newbie chaps from Hungary and Hong Kong were presented with a healthy challenge. Hungary 'man-mountain' guy expressed 'oh nooo I am goink to dyyee', whilst Hong Kong guy slumped quietly during a couple of asana. I reassured 'man-mountain' that it was highly unlikely he would die, he might hobble a little but that was all.

A highlight of our visit was the 3 hour 'Durga Puja' Ceremony celebrating the Goddess Durga's good over evil triumph. Focussed on a positive feminine spiritual force, this is one of many festivals at this time, such as Dussehra. During our ceremony nine little girls are chosen as a mark of respect for the Goddess Durga, they represent 9 goddesses and are celebrated by being given new clothes, being blessed and eating first during the special meal. As with other 'puja' ceremonies at the end you are given a leaf basket with fruit, flowers and a delicious little sweet offering, with the 'Durga Puja' we also got the most lovely little packet of Turmeric for cooking and also making a paste for a celebratory bindi.

Another ambition realised was to encounter a Sadhu 'holy man'! Our Sadhu ate only fruit and had a childlike wonder for the world we were told. He took part in the serious celebrations and was I was most surprised to see he'd recently acquired a mobile phone and seemed to love it. At the end of a puja he asked someone to take his photo with Swami Ritavan and was delighted to have loads of Facebook likes for his lovely pic. It genuinely seemed to be his only possession apart from the simple cloth he was wrapped in and his rudraksha beads. As we chatted later we decided that mobiles can be used to really good ends as an experiential tool, but at the same time it's so easy to get caught up in things with technology that matter little. Walking this tightrope is a fine line.

After our final morning yoga session we had a ride back down to Rishikesh for one last look around and a little present shopping. Another little paddle in the Ganges and collecting some of its water to bring home. One last chance to use the selfie stick too, in the town on Ram Jhula bridge. This really confirmed to me that Rishikesh has a huge place in my heart and is an inspirational place.